Friggitelli al pomodoro

Italian friggitelli sweet peppers with tomatoes
Traditional recipe

There is a lot of confusion on friggitelli name in Italy and I think abroad too. Friggitelli is the plural of friggitello
but what are friggitelli? they are cigarette-shaped sweet peppers, generally green, typical of central and southern Italy,
also called friarelli or friarielli depending on the area. More details below, included the site where you'll be able to buy their seeds.
To begin, here's a good and fast recipe that I have the habit to do in summer. Vegan dish for your Mediterranean diet!

Recipe for friggitelli sweet peppers with tomatoes

Preparation and cooking

- Clean friggittelli sweet peppers.
Remove their petiole, cut them in half, remove their seeds inside.
Wash them under running water and pat the excess water with paper towels.

- Put olive oil in a non-stick pan and fry them slightly, a few at a time, very few minutes. Turn them often to avoid browning them.
Once cooked, remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside.

- Meanwhile ...
... slice onions.
Wash cherry tomatoes and cut into two or three pieces.
Wash fresh chives, pat with the excess water with paper towels.

- Fry slightly onion in the same pan used for friggitelli.
Stir often.
Add tomatoes and continue cooking stirring now and then, some minutes.
Add friggitelli, season to taste with salt and complete cooking quickly.

Just before serving

- Just before turning off the stove, cut in fresh chives and stir.

- Serve friggitelli hot or warm.

Note

Tips

- The traditional recipe calls for cleaning friggitelli by removing only a portion of their petiole and leaving them whole so that you can eat
them with your hands (of course I'm talking about the version in which they are only fried). But in every recipe I prefer to
remove their petiole, cut them in half and remove seeds. It depends on your own taste.

- I prefer cherry tomatoes but I have seen the same recipe made with other tomato varieties but firm and ripe.

- Garlic lovers can add a garlic clove to onions.

- Sometimes, I add capers and anchovies frying onions or olives to tomatoes.

- Now, let us return to the question with which I opened this page. So ... what is their authentic name? it is more correct
to call them friggitelli, friarelli or friarielli? I assure you that there is a great confusion in Italy too. In Naples, the name friarielli means the inflorescence
of broccoli and one of the most popular recipes with them is "broccoli and sausage". There is a pizza with this topping too, very good ;)
But ... nothing to do with the recipe of this post. So in Naples, these green sweet peppers are called Puparulilli to avoid confusing them with turnip greens.
Outside Naples ... all is different. The name depends on the area where you live. Anyway, the most common name is friggitelli ;))

- Here's a page
where you can see the friggitelli sweet peppers and buy their seeds if you want to grow them.

Menu planning

- Serve this friggitelli recipe as side dish to accompany not too fat meat or fish recipes.

Healthy eating

- Sweet peppers are tasty and rich in nutrients. Do not miss them in summer and early autumn when they are in season.